TOP New York designer Donna Karan came to Dublin in the shape of Peggy Pashayan on Thursday to organise a special showing of the DKNY summer collection at Brown Thomas. The ebullient Ms Pashayan has worked with Karan for 15 years, ever since the days when they worked for the late designer Anne Klein.
"Donna was only 26 when Anne died," recalls Pashayan, "and she was told, okay, you're in charge. It was sink or swim." Ten years later, Donna Karan has her own company and the DKNY label is now synonymous with feminine cool and careerist chic. Her high profile pals and loyal customers include Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli, and Hollywood's most confident couple, Bruce Willis and Demi Moore, who were introduced to Karan by mutual friend Deepak Chopra. Also close to Karan is the model Iman, who recently brought the designer along to a glitzy 50th birthday party for her husband, David Bowie.
Thursday's show at Brown Thomas saw the launch of a new line of Karan casuals, simply entitled "D". Irish models Marie Staunton, Sonya Reynolds, Vivienne Connolly and Ali Phelan presented the clothes to a large crowd which included Ursula Keane, Jackie Rafter, Orna Cummins and Mary McGrath, Frances McDonagh of NCAD, and Jennifer Keegan from Head To Toe.
"My presentation is like a workshop on how to build your own wardrobe," says Pashayan. "I show how to utilise DKNY clothes to create the right outfit, whether it's a career wardrobe or just carpool couture.
Ms Pashayan enjoyed her flying visit to Dublin so much that she stayed an extra day before moving on to Moscow, Rome, Berlin and Croatia for similar shows. "People have said to me, all you think about is clothes. Well, they're right. That's all I think about. I get visions of clothes."